INDIA: Tanzania were off to a dismal start to their maiden FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign as they went down 4-0 against Japan while defending champions Spain edged past Colombia 1-0 on matchday one of the mega event.
Tanzania, making their FIFA U-17 debut, suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat at the hands of tournament favourites Japan as the latter displayed utter domination for the majority of the match.
Japanese midfielder Uno Shiragaki opened the scoring for her side as she netted the first goal of the match in the 37th minute to hand her side an early 1-0 lead.
Both sides made several attempts to alter the scoreboard but goalkeepers displayed astonishing grit to keep it intact.
A series of substitutions from both teams then accelerated the game as Mao Itamura, who replaced Miyu Matsunaga in the 64th minute, took just three more to make her presence felt and powered Japan to a 2-0 lead.
Itamura then passed the ball to Ai Tsujisawa, who blasted it into the net with her second touch to make it 3-0.
A well-directed freekick from Momoko Tanikawa just outside the Tanzanian box turned out to be a cherry on top for Japan.
Meanwhile, Tanzania failed to net a single goal in the one-sided clash.
Defending champions Spain, on the other hand, sank Colombia as a late strike from Jone Martinez – five minutes prior to the 90-minute mark – bolstered the side to claim their first points in the mega event.
China, who thrashed Mexico 2-1 earlier on the second day, lead the Group C standings with two goals, while Spain claimed the second spot.
The action-filled tournament is being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and is simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.
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